Caspian languages

Caspian
Geographic
distribution
South coast of the Caspian Sea
Linguistic classificationIndo-European
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologcasp1236
The Caspian languages

The Caspian languages are a key branch of North-Western Iranian languages spoken in Iran and parts of the Azerbaijan Republic, south & west of the Caspian Sea. They are also unique in sharing some typological features with the Kartvelian languages.[2][3][4][5] Although spoken on the southern and western Caspian coasts, Caspian languages and dialects share significant linguistic similarities with the Zaza language, spoken in Anatolia.[6][7]

Classification

Glottolog lists the Caspian languages ​​as Gilaki-Rudbari, Mazanderani-Shahmirzadi and Gorgani.[8] Similarly, according to Ethnologue, the Caspian languages consist of Gilaki, Mazanderani and Shahmirzadi.[9]

Languages such as Zaza, Talysh, Tati, Gorani and Balochi are closely related to the Caspian languages. Although not spoken in the Caspian region today, according to the long-standing theories the Zaza, Balochi, and Gurani languages ​​originated in the Caspian region and Zazas, Balochis and Gurans migrated from the Caspian region to their present-day settlements.[10][6][7][11][12][13][14]

Languages

Caspian languages include:[8]

References

  1. ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Caspian". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  2. ^ Nasidze, I; Quinque, D; Rahmani, M; Alemohamad, SA; Stoneking, M (April 2006). "Concomitant Replacement of Language and mtDNA in South Caspian Populations of Iran". Curr. Biol. 16 (7): 668–73. Bibcode:2006CBio...16..668N. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.021. PMID 16581511. S2CID 7883334.
  3. ^ Academic American Encyclopedia By Grolier Incorporated, page 294
  4. ^ The Tati language group in the sociolinguistic context of Northwestern Iran and Transcaucasia By D.Stilo, pages 137-185
  5. ^ Borjian H. The Mazandarani Dialect of Kalijān Rostāq. Iranian Studies. 2019;52(3-4):551-573. doi:10.1080/00210862.2019.1611371
  6. ^ a b Asatrian, Garnik (1995), "DIMLĪ", Encyclopædia Iranica, VI (5): 405–411, retrieved 7 June 2020
  7. ^ a b Paul, Ludwig (1998). "The Pozition of Zazaki the West Iranian Languages" (PDF). Iran Chamber. Open Publishing. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Caspian". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  9. ^ "Caspian". Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  10. ^ Elfenbein, Josef (1988), "BALUCHISTAN iii. Baluchi Language and Literature", Encyclopædia Iranica, III (6): 633–644, retrieved 4 April 2026
  11. ^ Minorsky, Vladimir (1943). "The Gūrān". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 11 (1): 86–88. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  12. ^ Blau, Joyce (1989). "Gurânî et Zâzâ". In Schmitt, Rüdiger (ed.). Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: Reichert. p. 336. ISBN 3-88226-413-6.
  13. ^ Werner, Eberhard (2017). Rivers and Mountains: A Historical, Applied Anthropological and Linguistical Study of the Zaza People of Turkey Including an Introduction to Applied Cultural Anthropology. Nuremberg: Verlag Fur Theologie Und Religionswissenschaft. pp. 97–104. ISBN 978-3957760654.
  14. ^ MacKenzie, David Neil (2002). "GURĀNI". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.